Already installed in Leitchfield, the Flock Safety camera system could also be installed in Grayson County.
Grayson County Sheriff Norman advocated the installation of Flock cameras in the county at Thursday’s Fiscal Court meeting.
“It would certainly help us in our investigations …, Chaffins told magistrates. “It’s kind of getting ahead of the curve. In the past, we’ve been 10 to 20 years behind as far as technology as far as law enforcement goes … I think this will be a game-changer for us as well. It’s almost like having additional deputies out there.”
In late March, Leitchfield police received a notification through Flock Safety cameras that a stolen vehicle had entered Leitchfield, according to Leitchfield police. Officers responded to the area and located the stolen vehicle on Commerce Drive in Leitchfield.
The ensuing investigation resulted in the arrest of 21-year-old James Riley, a felon convicted in Breckinridge County for trafficking in and possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), according to the Kentucky Department of Corrections.
During a search of the stolen vehicle, police located a handgun.
Riley was charged with receiving stolen property and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.
“Leitchfield Police have already garnered multiple successes in the use of the Flock equipment to find suspects in investigations and develop leads in other cases,” LPD said at the time. “The notification through flock is generated due to the license plate reader associated with the camera. That license plate is entered as a stolen vehicle which Flock automatically begins scanning and sending notifications if and when that stolen vehicle passes by a camera.”
Elizabethtown police chief promotes the use of Flock cameras
Saying the cameras are “simply plate readers,” Chaffins noted that Elizabethtown Police Chief Jeremy Thompson told him that, “This has been a game-changer for law enforcement in Hardin County.”
The city of Elizabethtown had 20 Flock cameras installed in February 2023. Since that time, the surveillance system has aided in solving several crimes, including quickly capturing a shooting suspect and locating a stolen vehicle with a seven-month-old baby inside.
- In the shooting incident, Flock cameras enabled police to identify the suspect after he drove by a camera while leaving the shooting scene. He was caught 12 hours later.
- In September 2023, a baby was inside a vehicle that was stolen. Authorities found the vehicle with the baby inside within an hour of the crime courtesy of the city’s Flock system cameras.
The technology, according to Thompson, a 26-year law enforcement veteran, is a key piece of his department’s investigative arsenal.
“Of all the years I’ve been doing this, I can’t think of a better piece of technology, a more game-changing piece of technology that what Flock has done for law enforcement,” Thompson told The News-Enterprise in a November 2023 interview, found here (paywall). “It gives us actionable intelligence in real time on what’s going on in our city when it comes to criminal behavior.”
Flock cameras tabled for the moment
Although a Flock representative told Fiscal Court that 20 cameras, including at least one “long-range” camera, would cost $46,050 per year, there was no vote on whether to install the system throughout Grayson County. Flock officials, at the request of Fiscal Court, will put together a financial package regarding the cost of the installation of 10, 15 and 20 cameras respectively.
The official said the company will waive the one-time installation fee.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
